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J-iVj-    ,1-.;.  . 


Kahn 
^hen  the  Tide  Turned 


«-y.,il<'')i*M^<iij!--;^-- 


California 

egional 

icility 


LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


PRESENTED  BY 

A.    RUSSELL    BUCHANAN 


■f- 


When  the  Tide  Turned 

The  American  Attack  at  Chateau  Thierry 

and  Belleau  Wood  in  the  first 

week  of  June,    191 8 


BY 

Otto  H.  Kahn 


AN  ADDRESS   AT  THE 

UNITED  WAR  WORIC  CAMPAIGN  MEETING 

OF  THE   BOSTON   ATHLETIC  ASSOCIATION 

November  12.  1918 


When  the  Tide  Turned 

The  American  Attack  at  Chateau  Thierry 

and  Belleau  Wood  in  the  first 

week  of  June,  191 8 


BY 

Otto  H.  Kahn 


AN  ADDRESS  AT  THE 

United  War  fVork  Campaign  Meeting 

of  the  Boston  Athletic  Association 

November  12,  1918 


When  the  Tide  Turned 


Why  the  Tide  was  Fated  to  Turn 

THESE  are  soul-stirring  days.  To  live 
through  them  is  a  glory  and  a  solemn  joy.  The 
words  of  the  poet  resound  in  our  hearts: 
"God's  in  His  heaven,  all's  well  with  the  world." 
Events  have  shaped  themselves  in  accordance 
with  the  eternal  law.  Once  again  the  funda- 
mental lesson  of  all  history  is  borne  in  upon  the 
world,  that  evil — though  it  may  seem  to  triumph 
for  a  while — carries  within  it  the  seed  of  its  own 
dissolution.  Once  again  it  is  revealed  to  us  that 
the  God-inspired  soul  of  man  is  unconquerable 
and  that  the  power,  however  formidable,  which 
challenges  it  is  doomed  to  go  down  in  defeat. 

A  righteous  cause  will  not  only  stand  unshaken 
through  trials  and  discomfiture,  but  it  will 
draw  strength  from  the  very  set-backs  which 
it  may  suffer.  A  wrongful  cause  can  only  stand 
as  long  as  it  is  buoyed  up  by  success. 

The  German  people  were  sustained  by  a  sheer 
obsession  akin  to  the  old-time  belief  in  the  potent 
spell  of  "the  black  arts"  that  their  military 
masters  were  invulnerable  and  invincible,  that  by 

3 


some  power — good  or  evil,  they  did  not  care 
which — they  had  been  made  so,  and  that  the 
world  was  bound  to  fall  before  them. 

The  nation  was  immensely  strong  only  as  long 
as  that  obsession  remained  unshaken.  With  its 
destruction  by  a  series  of  defeats  which  were 
incapable  of  being  explained  as  "strategic  retreats," 
their  morale  crumbled  and  finally  collapsed, 
because  it  was  not  sustained,  as  that  of  the  Allies 
was  sustained  in  the  darkest  days  of  the  war  by 
the  faith  that  they  were  fighting  for  all  that  men 
hold  most  sacred. 

To  those  who  were  acquainted  with  German 
mentality  and  psychology,  it  had  been  manifest 
all  along  that  when  the  end  foreordained  did  come, 
it  would  come  with  catastrophic  suddenness. 


Where  the  Tide  Turned 

It  is  the  general  impression  that  the  tide  of 
victory  set  in  with  Marshal  Foch's  splendid 
movement  against  the  German  flank  on  July 
1 8th.  That  movement,  it  is  true,  started  the 
irresistible  sweep  of  the  wave  which  was  destined 
to  engulf  and  destroy  the  hideous  power  of 
Prussianism.  But  the  tide  which  gathered  and 
drove  forward  the  waters  out  of  which  that  wave 
arose,  had  turned  before.  It  turned  with  and 
through  the  supreme  valor  of  our  Marines  and 
other  American  troops  in  the.  Jirsf  battle  at  Chateau 
Thierry  and  at  Belleau  Wood,  in  the  first  week 
of  June. 

4 


The  American  force  engaged  was  small,  measured 
by  the  standard  of  numbers  to  which  we  have 
become  accustomed  in  this  war,  but  the  story 
of  their  fighting  will  remain  immortal  and  in  its 
psychological  and  strategic  consequences  the  action 
will  take  rank,  I  believe,  among  the  decisive 
battles   of  the   war. 

I  am  not  speaking  from  hearsay.  I  was  in  France 
during  the  week  preceding  that  battle,  the  most 
anxious  and  gloomy  period,  probably,  of  the 
entire  war.  What  I  am  about  to  relate  is  based 
either  on  authoritative  information  gathered  on 
the  spot,  or  on  my  own  observations.  In  telling 
it,  nothing  is  farther  from  my  thoughts  than  to 
wish  to  take  away  one  tittle  from  the  immortal 
glory  which  belongs  to  the  Allied  armies,  nor 
from  the  undying  gratitude  which  we  owe  to  the 
nations  who  for  four  heart-breaking  years,  with 
superb  heroism,  fought  the  battle  of  civilization — 
our  battle  from  the  very  beginning,  no  less  than 
theirs— and  bore  untold  sacrifices  with  never 
faltering  spirit. 


Just  Before  the  Tide  Turned 

On  the  27th  of  last  May  the  Germans  broke 
through  the  French  position  at  the  Chemin  des 
Dames,  a  position  which  had  been  considered  by 
the  Allies  as  almost  impregnable.  They  over- 
threw the  French  as  they  had  overthrown  the 
British  two  months  earlier.  Day  by  day  they 
came  nearer  to  Paris,  until  only  thirty-nine  miles 

5 


separated  them  from  their  goal.  A  few  days  more 
at  the  same  rate  of  advance,  and  Paris  was  within 
range  of  the  German  guns  of  terrific  destructive 
pov/er.  Paris,  the  nerve  center  of  the  French 
railroad  system  and  the  seat  of  many  French 
war  industries,  not  only,  but  the  very  heart  of 
France,  far  more  to  the  French  people  in  its  meaning 
and  traditions  than  merely  the  capital  of  the 
country;  Paris  in  imminent  danger  of  ruthless 
bombardment  like  Rheims,  in  possible  danger 
even  of  conquest  by  the  brutal  invader,  drunk 
with  lust  and  with  victory!  As  one  Frenchman 
expressed  it  to  me:  "We  felt  in  our  faces  the  very 
breath  of  the   approaching  beast." 

And  whilst  the  Hunnish  hordes  came  nearer  and 
nearer,  and  the  very  roar  of  the  battle  could  be 
dimly  and  ominously  heard  from  time  to  time 
in  Paris,  there  were  air  raids  over  the  city  prac- 
tically every  night,  and  the  shells  from  the 
long-range  monster  guns  installed  some  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  distant,  fell  on  its  houses,  places 
and  streets  almost  every  day. 

They  were  not  afraid,  these  superb  men  and 
women  of  France.  They  do  not  know  the  meaning 
of  fear  in  defense  of  their  beloved  soil  and  their 
sacred  ideals.  There  was  no  outward  manifesta- 
tion even  of  excitement  or  apprehension.  Calmly 
and  resolutely  they  faced  what  destiny  might 
bring.  But  there  was  deep  gloom  in  their 
hearts    and    dire    forebodings. 

They  had  fought  and  dared  and  suffered  and 
sacrificed  for  well  nigh  four  years.    They  had  buried 

6 


a  million  of  their  sons,  brothers  and  fathers.  They 
were  bleeding  from  a  million  wounds  and  more. 
They  said:  "We  will  fight  on  to  our  last  drop  of 
blood,  but  alas!  our  physical  strength  is  ebbing. 
The  enemy  is  more  numerous  by  far  than  we. 
Where  can  we  look  for  aid?  The  British  have  just 
suffered  grave  defeat.  The  Italians  have  their  own 
soil  to  defend  after  the  disaster  of  last  autumn.  Our 
troops  are  in  retreat.  The  Americans  are  not 
ready  and  they  are  untried  as  yet  in  the  fierce 
ordeal  of  modern  warfare.  The  Germans  know 
well  that  in  three  months  or  six  months  the 
Americans  will  be  ready  and  strong  in  numbers. 
That  is  why  they  are  throwing  every  ounce  of 
their  formidable  power  against  us  now.  The  Hun 
is  at  the  gate  now.  Immeasurable  consequences 
are  at  stake  now.  It  is  a  question  of  days,  not 
of  weeks  or  months.  Where  can  we  look  for 
aid   now  ?" 

And  out  of  their  nooks  and  corners  and 
hiding  places  crawled  forth  the  slimy  brood  of 
the  Bolshevik-Socialists,  of  the  Boloists,  Cail- 
louxists  and  pacifists,  and  they  hissed  into  the 
ears  of  the  people,  "Make  peace!  Victory  has 
become  impossible.  Why  go  on  shedding  rivers 
of  blood  uselessly?  The  Germans  will  give  you 
an  honorable,  even  a  generous  peace.  Save 
Paris!     Make  peace!" 

The  holy  wrath  of  France  crushed  those  serpents 
whenever  their  heads  became  visible.  Clemenceau, 
the  embodiment  of  the  dauntless  spirit  of  France, 
stood    forth    the    very  soul  of  patriotic  ardor    and 

7 


indomitable  courage.  But  the  serpents  were  there, 
crawling  hidden  in  the  grass,  ever  hissing,  "Make 
peace! 

And  then,  suddenly  out  of  the  gloom  flashed 
the  lightning  of  a  new  sword,  sharp  and  mighty, 
a  sword  which  had  never  been  drawn  except  for 
freedom,  a  sword  which  had  never  known  defeat 
— the   sword   of  America! 


The  Turning  of  the  Tide 

A  division  of  Marines  and  other  American 
troops  were  rushed  to  the  front  as  a  desperate 
measure  to  try  and  stop  a  gap  where  flesh  and 
blood,  even  when  animated  by  French  heroism, 
seemed  incapable  of  further  resistance.  They 
came  in  trucks,  in  cattle  cars,  by  any  conceivable 
kind  of  conveyance,  crowded  together  like 
sardines.  They  had  had  little  food,  and  less 
sleep,  for  days. 

When  they  arrived,  the  situation  had  become 
such  that  the  French  command  advised,  indeed 
ordered,  them  to  retire.  But  they  and  their  brave 
General  would  not  hear  of  it.  They  disembarked 
almost  upon  the  field  of  battle  and  rushed 
forward,  with  little  care  for  orthodox  battle  order, 
without  awaiting  the  arrival  of  their  artillery, 
which  had  been  unable  to  keep  up  with  their 
rapid  passage  to  that  front. 

They  stormed  ahead,  right  through  the  midst 
of  a  retreating  French  division,  yelling  like  wild 
Indians,  ardent,  young,  irresistible  in   their   fury  of 

8 


battle.  Some  of  the  Frenchmen  called  out  a  well- 
meant  warning:  "Don't  go  in  this  direction.  There 
are  the  boches  with  machine  guns."  They  shouted 
back:  "That's  where  we  want  to  go.  That's  where 
we  have  come  three  thousand  miles  to  go."  And 
they  did  go,  into  the  very  teeth  of  the  deadly 
machine  guns.  In  defiance  of  all  precedent  they 
stormed,  with  rifle  and  bayonet  in  frontal  attack, 
against  massed  machine  guns. 

They  threw  themselves  upon  the  victory- 
flushed  Huns  to  whom  this  unconventional  kind 
of  fierce  onset  came  as  a  complete  and  discon- 
certing surprise.  They  fought  like  demons,  with 
utterly  reckless  bravery.  They  paid  the  price, 
alas!  in  heavy  losses,  but  for  what  they  paid  they 
took    compensation    in    over-full    measure. 

They  formed  of  themselves  a  spearhead  at  the 
point  nearest  Paris,  against  which  the  enemy's 
onslaught  shattered  itself  and  broke.  They  stopped 
the  Hun,  they  beat  him  back,  they  broke  the  spell 
of  his  advance.    They  started  victory  on  its  march. 

A  new  and  unspent  and  mighty  force  had  come 
into  the  fray.  And  the  Hun  knew  it  to  his  cost 
and  the  French  knew  it  to  their  unbounded  joy. 
The  French  turned.  Side  by  side  the  Americans 
and  the  French  stood,  and  on  that  part  of  the 
front  the  Germans  never  advanced  another  inch 
from  that  day.  They  held  for  awhile,  and  then 
set  in  the  beginning  of  the  great  defeat. 

I  was  in  Paris  when  the  news  of  the  American 
achievement  reached  the  population.  They  knew 
full    well    what    it    meant.      The    danger    was    still 

9 


present,  but  the  crisis  was  over.  The  Boche 
could  not  break  through.  He  could  and  would  be 
stopped  and  ultimately  thrown  back,  out  of  France, 
out  of  Belgium,  across  the  Rhine  and  beyond! 

The  aid  for  which  the  sorely  beset  people  of 
France  had  been  praying,  had  arrived.  The 
Americans  had  come,  young,  strong,  daring,  eager 
to  fight,  capable  of  standing  up  against  and 
stopping  and  beating  back  German  shock  troops 
specially  selected  and  trained,  and  spurred  on 
by  the  belief  in  their  own  irresistibility  and  the 
exhaustion  of  their  opponents.  The  full  wave  of 
the  hideous  instruments  of  warfare  which  the 
devilish  ingenuity  of  the  Germans  had  invented, 
liquid  fire,  monstrous  shells,  various  kinds  of  gases 
including  the  horrible  mustard  gas,  had  struck  the 
Americans  squarely  and  fully,  and  they  had  stood 
and  fought  on  and  won. 

The  French,  so  calm  in  their  trials,  so  restrained 
in  their  own  victories,  gave  full  vent  to  their 
joy  and  enthusiasm  at  the  splendid  fighting  and 
success  of  the  Americans.  The  talk  of  them 
was  everywhere  in  Paris.  Hundreds  of  thousands 
of  American  soldiers  already  in  France,  thousands 
coming  upon  every  steamer,  millions  more  to 
come  if  needed — and  they  had  shown  the  great 
stuff  they  were  made  of!  All  gloom  vanished, 
overnight.  The  full  magnificence  of  the  French 
fighting  morale  shone  out  again — both  behind 
the  hnes  and  at  the  front.  "lis  ne  passeront 
pas!"     "On  les  aura." 

And     the     Bolshevik-Socialists,     Boloists,    weak- 

10 


kneed  pacifists,  and  that  whole  noisome  tribe 
slunk  back  into  their  holes  and  corners  and  hiding 
places,   and  never  emerged  again. 

And,  as  the  people  of  Paris  and  the  poilus  at 
the  front  correctly  interpreted  the  meaning  of  that 
battle  in  those  early  days  of  June,  so  did  the 
supreme  military  genius  of  Marshal  Foch  interpret 
it.  He  knew  what  the  new  great  fighting  force 
could  do  which  had  come  under  his  orders,  and  he 
knew  what  he  meant  to  do  and  could  do  with 
it.  It  is  an  eloquent  fact  that  when  six  weeks 
later  he  struck  his  great  master  stroke  which  was 
to  lead  ultimately  to  the  utter  defeat  and  collapse 
of  the  enemy,  American  troops  formed  the  larger 
portion  of  an  attacking  force  which,  being  thrown 
against  a  particularly  vital  position,  was  meant  to 
deal  and  did  deal  the  most  staggering  blow  to 
the  enemy;  and  other  American  troops  were  allotted 
the  place  which  from  the  paramount  responsibility 
attaching  to  it,  may  be  termed  the  place  of  honor, 
in  the  center  of  the  line,  in  immediate  defense  of 
the  approaches  to  Paris. 

They  made  good  there — officers  and  men  alike. 
They  made  good  everywhere,  from  Cantigny  to 
Sedan.  They  made  good  on  land,  on  the  seas 
and  in  the  air;  worthy  comrades  of  the  war- 
seasoned  heroes  of  France  and  Great  Britain, 
worthy  defenders  of  American  honor,  eager  artisans 
of  American  glory.  When,  for  the  first  time  the 
American  army  went  into  action  as  a  separate 
unit  under  the  direct  command  of  its  great  chief, 
General    Pershing,    Marshal     Foch    allotted    them 

11 


ten  days  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  task  set 
for  them,  /.  f.,  the  ejection  of  the  German  army 
from  the  strongly  fortified  St.  Mihiel  salient,  which 
the  enemy  had  held  for  four  years.  They  did  it 
in  thirty  hours,  and  made  a  complete  and  perfect 
job  of  it. 

I  have  had  the  privilege  of  seeing  these  splendid 
boys  of  ours,  in  all  situations  and  circumstances, 
from  their  camps  in  America  to  the  front  in 
France — the  boys  and  their  equally  splendid 
leaders.  The  sacred  inspiration  of  what  I  have 
thus  seen  will  stay  with  me  to  my  last  day. 

I  confess  I  find  it  hard  to  speak  of  them  without 
a  catch  in  my  throat  and  moisture  in  my  eyes. 
I  see  them  before  me  now  in  the  fair  land  of 
France — brave,  strong,  ardent;  keen  and  quick- 
witted; kindly  and  clean  and  modest  and  wholly 
free  from  boasting;  good-humored  and  good- 
natured;  willingly  submissive  to  unaccustomed 
discipline;  uncomplainingly  enduring  all  manner 
of  hardships  and  discomforts;  utterly  con- 
temptuous of  danger,  daring  to  a  fault,  holding 
life  cheap  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  America. 
What  true  American  can  think  of  them  or  picture 
them  without  having  his  heart  overflow  with 
grateful   and  affectionate  pride? 

As  I  observed  our  Army  "over  there,"  I  felt 
that  in  them,  in  the  mass  of  them,  representing  as 
they  do  all  sections  and  callings  of  America,  there 
had  returned  the  ancient  spirit  of  knighthood. 
I  measure  my  words.  I  am  not  exaggerating. 
If  I    had    to   find   one   single   word   with  which   to 

12 


characterize     our      boys,      I      should      select      the 
adjective   "knightly." 

A  French  officer  who  commanded  a  body  of 
French  troops,  fighting  fiercely  and  almost  hopelessly 
in  Belleau  Wood  near  Chateau  Thierry  (since 
then  officially  designated  by  the  French  Gov- 
ernment as  the  Wood  of  the  Marine  Brigade), 
told  me  that  when  they  had  arrived  almost  at 
the  point  of  total  exhaustion,  suddenly  the 
Americans  appeared  rushing  to  the  rescue.  One 
of  the  American  officers  hurried  up  to  him,  saluted 
and  said  in  execrably  pronounced  French  just  six 
words:  "Vous — fatigues,  vous — partir,  notre  job." 
"You — tired,  you — get  away,  our  job." 

And  right  nobly  did  they  do  their  job.  Need 
I  ask  whether  we  shall  do  ours? 


The  Tide  of  Our  Gratitude 

The  job  now  before  us  is  to  raise  the  needed 
funds  to  enable  the  organizations  included  in  the 
United  War  Work  Campaign  to  do  theirs.  No 
one  who  has  not  had  occasion  to  see  our  Army 
over  there,  can  fully  realize  how  much  of  comfort, 
of  cheer  and  of  home  feeling  these  organizations 
are  bringing  to  our  boys.  For,  these  boys  with  all 
their  knightly  virtues  are  very  human.  They  are 
healthy  young  animals  with  strong  appetites  for 
food  and  for  recreation.  They  will  attack  a  dish 
of  American  ice-cream  or  a  hot  drink  with  a  zest 
inferior    only    to    that    with    which    they    attack    a 

13 


German  machine-gun  nest.  They  will  crowd 
into  an  entertainment  hut,  a  reading  and  writing 
or  lecture  room  with  an  eagerness  comparable  to 
that  with  which  they  storm  enemy  positions. 
And  they  have  an  intense  and  touching  longing 
for  home. 

The  feeling  of  the  long  distance  separating  them 
from  home  is  the  one  hardest  to  get  accustomed 
and  resigned  to  for  those  splendid  fellows.  The 
organizations  of  the  United  War  Work,  with  the 
vast  ramifications  of  their  beneficent  activities 
in  all  places  where  our  army  is  fighting,  training, 
constructing  or  resting  are  giving  to  the  boys 
something  akin  to  a  home,  something  which 
brings  the  sweet  and  eagerly  welcomed  touch  of 
American  surroundings  and  atmosphere  into  the 
strange  and  unaccustomed  world  in  which  they 
are  moving  for  the  time  being. 

One  must  not  think  of  those  who  are  representing 
these  organizations  in  their  contact  with  the  Army, 
as  bespectacled  anaemic  beings.  They  are,  on 
the  contrary,  red-blooded  men  and  women,  with 
warm  hearts  and  sympathetic  understanding.  The 
services  and  benefits  of  the  great  organizations 
they  represent  are  open  to  any  and  every  man 
wearing  the  United  States  uniform,  irrespective 
of  race  or  religion  or  antecedents.  No  questions 
are  asked,  and  every  one  is  made  cordially 
welcome  by  the  men  and  women  who  with  devoted 
zeal,  tirelessly,  courageously  and  self-sacrificingly, 
often  within  reach  of  shot  and  shell,  tend  to  the 
wants  of  our  boys. 

14 


The  spirit  in  which  they  administer  their  task 
is  large  and  broad  and  of  wide  human  sympathy 
and  tolerance,  as  I  can  testify  from  personal 
observation.  They  realize  fully  that  they  are 
not  dealing  with  saints  or  aspirants  to  sainthood, 
but  with  average  youth  and  with  soldiering  youth 
at  that.  And  they  know  what  youth — clean, 
vigorous,  normal  American  youth  wants  and 
appreciates  in  the  way  of  material  and  spiritual 
things.  They  know  the  temptations  besetting 
youth,  but  they  also  know  that  the  normal 
American  boy  would  far  rather  have  clean  enjoy- 
ment than  tainted  pleasures. 

They  are  offering  to  all  soldiers  comfort,  cheer, 
diversion,  instruction,  in  short,  the  opportunity  to 
gratify  every  legitimate  aspiration,  and  if  the 
records  show  that  our  army  is  the  healthiest  and 
cleanest  that  ever  stood  in  the  field,  a  large  part 
of  the  credit  for  this  enviable  result  belongs  to  the 
organizations  included  in  the  United  War  Work 
Campaign. 

The  extent  of  their  work  with  its  resultant 
inestimable  benefit  to  our  boys,  is  limited  only  by 
the  greater  or  lesser  liberality  with  which  the 
country  will  respond  to  their  appeal  for  funds — 
and,  surely,  no  liberality  can  be  too  great  towards 
those  who  fought  without  counting  the  cost  in 
life  and  limb  for  our  honor,  glory  and  safety.  And 
if,  thank  God,  the  fighting  and  maiming  and 
killing  have  now  come  to  an  end,  let  us  give  in 
double  measure  as  a  peace-offering,  as  a  thanks- 
giving, as  a  tribute   to  the  memory  of  those  who 

15 


laid  down  their  lives  for  America  and  for  humanity. 

Heaven  forbid  that  we  should  permit  an  impres- 
sion to  go  out  to  our  soldiers  that  we  took  good 
care  of  them  as  long  as  we  needed  them  to  stand 
between  us  and  the  enemy,  but  that  when  the 
danger  to  us  is  past,  we  fail  them.  The  debt  of 
gratitude  which  we  owe  to  them  cannot  be  measured 
or  discharged  in  money,  but  we  can  at  least  prove 
to  them,  as  far  as  we  can  express  it  by  giving, 
that  we  love  them  with  proud  and  tender  affection 
and  that  their  well-being  is  a  first  charge  upon 
our  means. 

America  has  broken  many  a  record  since  we 
entered  the  war.  There  is  one  record  yet  to  be 
broken  before  our  boys  come  home.  That  is  the 
record  of  the  outpouring  of  a  nation's  gratitude 
to  its  defenders. 


The  Tide  of  Peace 

For  some  time  past  we  have  heard  approaching 
in  the  skies,  the  beating  of  the  wings  of  the  Angel 
of  Peace.  Now  he  has  descended  upon  our  poor, 
bleeding,  war-torn  earth.  He  holds  in  his  hands 
the  great  gifts  of  Freedom  and  Victory.  We  greet 
him  with  boundless  gratitude  and  with  reverent 
joy.  The  hideous  idol  of  Prussian  militarism  lies 
shattered  at  the  feet  of  the  free  nations,  its  arch- 
priest  dethroned  and  disgraced,  cast  out  by  his 
own  distracted  peDple  and  branded  with  the  curse 
of  the  entire  world. 

To    this    blessed    and    glorious    result,    we    may 

16 


justly  claim  that  America  has  contributed  no 
mean  part.  We  thank  God  for  the  day  when, 
spurning  the  lure  of  ease  and  plenty  and  boundless 
prosperity,  we  chose  for  our  own  that  road  to  the 
heights  which  leads  through  sacrifice  and  suffering 
and  brought  our  mighty  and  unspent  power  to 
the  rescue  of  the  hard  pressed  champions  of 
humanity.  We  then  sought  no  advantage  for  our- 
selves and  we  seek  none  now.  We  have  proved 
that  America  is  not  the  "land  of  the  almighty 
dollar,"  as  too  many  believed  and  as  especially 
our  enemies  fatuously  believed  to  their  undoing, 
but  a  land  of  high  idealism,  ardently  zealous  to 
do  and  dare  and  spend  itself  in  a  righteous  cause. 

We  look  back  over  these  past  fateful  nineteen 
months  and  we  examine  our  hearts  and  thoughts 
and  deeds  and  we  believe  we  may  say  justly  and 
without  self-complacency  that  the  men  and  women 
of  America  have  not  been  found  unworthy  under 
the  great  test  to  which  they  were  put.  Old  and 
young,  rich  and  poor,  East  and  West,  North  and 
South — all  but  an  insignificant  few  who  are  not 
spiritually  Americans — have  risen  to  the  inspiration 
of  our  high  cause  and  have  joined  in  patriotic 
devotion   and  willing  sacrifice. 

A  new  and  exalted  spirit  pervades  the  land. 
We  have  made  a  new  pact  of  unity.  We  have  come 
to  understand  and  appreciate  each  other  better. 
We  respect  each  other  more.  We  are  justly  proud 
of  the  qualities  which  all  Americans  have  proved 
themselves  to  possess  in  common. 

We    draw     strengthened     faith     and     heightened 

17 


inspiration  from  the  glorious  vindication  of  the 
irresistible  potency  of  the  American  spirit  which 
has  made  its  own,  transfused  and  merged  into 
a  homogeneous  people,  thinking  and  feeling  alike 
in  national  essentials  the  men  and  women  of  many- 
races  who  make  up  America. 

We  are  now  walking  along  the  heights  of  great 
achievements  and  lofty  aspirations.  Let  us  shun 
the  descent  into  the  valleys  we  have  left  behind. 
Let  us  trust  and  strive  that  some  at  least  of  the 
things  we  have  gained  spiritually  may  never 
leave  us. 

America  comes  out  of  the  war  with  her  economic 
and  moral  potency  and  prestige  vastly  enhanced, 
with  her  outlook  broadened,  her  field  of  activity 
expanded,  her  enterprise  quickened,  her  imagination 
stirred,  her  every  faculty  stimulated. 

The  vista  which  opens  before  us  of  America's 
future  is  one  of  dazzling  greatness,  spiritually 
and  materially.  The  realization  of  that  vision 
cannot  fail  us  if  we  but  meet  our  problems  in  a 
spirit  of  true  Americanism,  of  moderation  and  self 
restraint  and  of  justice  and  good  will  to  all, 
rejecting  alike  privilege  and  demagogy,  banishing 
all  class  rule,  be  it  of  capital  or  of  labor. 

In  that  spirit  let  us  grasp  each  other  by  the  hand 
and  thus  resolved  and  united  against  enemies 
without  or  foes  within,  let  us  march  on  towards 
the  high  destiny  that  Providence  has  allotted 
to  the  country  which  in  grateful  pride  and  deep 
affection  we  call  our  own. 


18 


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'     GAYlAMOUNTIi) 
PAMPHLET  BINDER 
Syracuse,  N.Y. 
Stockton,  Calif. 


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